Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Project (Renamed Project)
Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Project
The project partners have executed transaction documents (subject to conditions precedent) to facilitate the development of a large-scale hydrogen and ammonia production facility to be located at Cape Hardy in South Australia.
| Main proponents:
Amp Energy |
Main end-use classification:
Advanced fuels for domestic use and export – including green ammonia, liquid hydrogen, methanol, and sustainable aviation fuel |
Status:
Under development – Pre-FEED stage. Entering FEED planned for end of 2024/start 2025 |
Estimated cost:
Stage 1: AUD$15 billion |
| Other involvement:
Iron Road Ltd |
Production details:
Stage 1: 5-gigawatt (GW) electrolyser capacity, including an initial 1 GW phase |
Location:
South Australia, Australia |
Announced funding:
|
Project description
(This project was previously titled ‘Cape Hardy Green Hydrogen Project’.)
Iron Road is progressing the Central Eyre Iron Project, an iron ore mining, beneficiation and infrastructure development opportunity on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The supporting planned export facility at Cape Hardy (located on the East coast or Spencer Gulf-side of the Eyre Peninsula) is designed to be integrated with a green manufacturing and industrial precinct over a number of stages.
Iron Road owns 1,207 hectares of land at Cape Hardy, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. In April 2023, Iron Road Ltd and Amp Energy executed a Strategic Framework Agreement and announced Amp Energy as the lead developer for the Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Project and commenced a nine-month exclusivity period (which was subsequently extended by three months to April 2024).
In May 2024, it was announced that Iron Road and Amp Energy have executed binding transaction documents (subject to conditions precedent) to facilitate the development of Amp’s Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Project. Amongst other things, the executed agreements cover an option to purchase by Amp Energy of 630 hectares of Cape Hardy land owned by Iron Road as well as frameworks surrounding development of / access to common user infrastructure.
Iron Road has confirmed it will not be an equity participant or debt provider in Amp Energy’s Advanced Fuels Project.
The selected development concept is an initial 1 GW of electrolyser capacity as part of a 1st stage 5 GW electrolyser development, followed by a further 5 GW scale electrolyser development and associated hydrogen and ammonia production facilities at Cape Hardy.
The May 2024 announcement release notes that the project’s concept, design, and pre-Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase have been studied and reviewed by two leading global engineering firms. Amp Energy is targeting completion of pre-FEED studies for the first 1 GW electrolyser phase over the next nine months. FEED scoping and contracting is currently underway ahead of awarding the FEED contract in late 2024 or early 2025.
Desalinated water would be sourced from the Northern Water Supply (NWS) seawater desalination plant; Northern Water has focussed on the Cape Hardy site option for the plant with final site selection expected in late 2025. The plant would meet the project’s demand for electrolyser feed water, cooling water, process plant water, and fire water.
The May 2024 announcement indicates an expected first production date during 2030.
The anticipated sources of power for the electrolyser system is expected to be a combination of behind-the-meter and grid sourced with the optimal composition subject to ongoing analysis through pre-FEED and FEED stages.
Updated: May 2024